Episode IV-V Breakthrough
Episode IV-V Breakthrough is the twenty-third episode of the Anime adaptation. Synopsis In 1986, Kinzo begins testing the cousins to choose the next successor to the family. George and Jessica are the first to be tested, where they must make a difficult decision. In 1998, Ange interviews relatives of victims in the Rokkenjima Incident and continues her search for the truth. Plot Summary First Half In 1998, Ange heads to the Nanjo Clinic in Nijima, run by Masayuki Nanjo. He explains to Ange that his father Terumasa was Kinzo's head physician, chess partner and longtime friend. He pulls out a crumpled letter marked with the One-Winged Eagle and the Ushiromiya seal, asking Ange never to tell anyone of it. She looks at the letter, which has Masayuki listed as the sender and going to a fake address. He explains that the letter was sent on October 3rd, 1986 and was returned to him when the destination wasn't found, a week after the Rokkenjima Incident. Ange figures it was a trick by the original sender to send something to Masayuki; he opens the letter to reveal a card, a key, and a PIN number, all for a safe-deposit box located in a bank reserved for special clients. Ange reads the PIN number: "07151129". Masayuki recounts that, after his father's funeral, he went to the bank to investigate these items. When he pulled out the card, the teller's attitude changed and he was guided into an underground vault. Using the card and key, a safe-deposit box was pulled out containing a massive amount of money. Masayuki immediately left, not wanting anything to do with this suspicious gift. Getting an idea, Ange pulls out her diary and compares the handwriting in it to the letter. Ange then heads to Sabakichi Kumasawa's house, who also received a letter containing a PIN and key. The letter had a fake address just like Masayuki's, and listed Chiyo Kumasawa as the sender. Sabakichi thought it was incredibly creepy, receiving a gift from his dead mother like that, so he put it away and forgot about it until now. Ange then remembers receiving the same letter when she was six years old; she lost it in the ensuing chaos when Eva became her guardian, but she's sure the same items were inside. She ponders what Beatrice was planning with this, and then sees some pictures on the wall; Sabakichi explains that his mother tried to solve the witch's epitaph, and Ange sees an interesting photograph with the line: "this door is opened only at a probability of a quadrillion to one. You will be blessed only at a probability of a quadrillion to one." Sabakichi notes that his mom really liked riddles like this. Ange's last stop is to meet Captain Kawabata, who ferried the Ushiromiyas to the island for years. Ange heard that there are no longer any water taxis going to or from Rokkenjima, so she'd hoped to get his assistance. He remarks that not many people are willing to go to the island ever since the incident, and that people have started calling it Akujikishima again. Kawabata agrees to lend Ange his boat, and they go downstairs as he announces his distaste for the people who would stir up the Rokkenjima Incident on talk shows. Suddenly, Ange notices something. Kawabata is confused but Ange begins shedding tears, calling it true magic; she finally understands Maria and Beatrice. Back in 1986, the clock strikes 23:00. Jessica is on the phone with Krauss, who's ordered by Kinzo to repeat everything that he says. The cousins are instructed to lock Gohda and Kumasawa in the garden storehouse so they don't interfere with the test. Jessica says they're being watched, so they shouldn't do anything rash; Gohda laments how Kinzo is just taking human lives like they were pieces on a chessboard. They lock the storehouse, and George hands the key to Gohda through the window. As the cousins leave, the Chiesters are shown to have been watching them through the bushes. Back in Kuwadorian's prison, Krauss asks Kinzo what he's doing to the cousins: he's just giving a simple test, wanting his grandchildren to show their resolve. Gaap commends Shannon and Kanon for their obedience, saying they could've cut the bars whenever they wanted; they reply that if they escaped, the game would've ended right then and there, and everyone would die. Virgilia summons some goat butlers to act as guards, and then summons a magic mirror inside the cell displaying the cousins walking. In the guesthouse, Battler is called by Kyrie, who tells him that the test will be given to Jessica, George, him, and Maria in that order; when they're called, they must go to a specific room and wait. Jessica is ordered to go to her room as the clock strikes 23:03. Second Half Jessica heads to her room and finds Ronove waiting for her. She asks who he is, and Ronove introduces himself as head furniture for the Master. When Jessica hears his name, she thinks of Genji's name, Ronoue. The demon butler explains that Genji is like his little brother, or rather his true form and vessel in the real world. Jessica is still confused and Ronove apologizes, saying a human wouldn't understand. He conjures a letter and asks Jessica to read it: this contains her test. She reads it and gets angry. Meanwhile, George was called to the rose garden arbor with Gaap and was given the same letter. He calls it a stupid test, and she agrees; she supposes that's what the headship is worth to Goldsmith. George reads the letter out loud: "Among the three mentioned below, sacrifice one in order to gain two. # Your life. # Shannon's life. # Everyone else's lives. If you do not choose one, all of the above will be lost." Gaap tells him that on Jessica's test, Kanon's name is written instead of Shannon's; question 2 is supposed to be the name of the one they love the most. Jessica expresses her anger at the test, which Ronove finds appropriate; he also finds the test to be a very pitiful yet humorous proposition, chuckling to himself. Kinzo watches the cousins with his crystal ball, wondering why the cousins are hesitating; he thinks the question is so easy that they can give an answer immediately. Jessica sits on her bed and Ronove asks for her answer; she says to kill her. Ronove expected her to say that, and says there are no right or wrong answers in this test; the important thing is her reasoning. Jessica explains that if she let Kanon die and she lived, she would regret that decision forever. If everyone else died, Kanon would never like her. Ronove is disappointed that she came to that answer through process of elimination, and gives her 60 points. Jessica reminisces on something she once told Kanon: "go live your life to the fullest." She wants to show Kanon what it means to live with his head held high, but Ronove tells her that becoming a victim may cause him pain. Jessica realizes what he means, and asks to leave Kanon a message. Even though Kanon never told her his real name, she wants him to live however he wants and live as the real Kanon. Kanon and Krauss watch her through the magic mirror, and Virgilia says to be lucky that she's letting them see this, as Ronove's fickle nature may not have let him pass the message otherwise. Krauss is surprised to see how his daughter is that willing to abandon her life for a servant, and Kanon asks Virgilia to kill him; he wants Jessica's answer to be changed to him instead. She refuses, citing it as Jessica's decision. She then heads upstairs to rest and leaves the goats to stand by. Back in the arbor, George chooses the third option: he'll sacrifice everyone except for him and Shannon. Gaap asks if he's willing to sacrifice the entire world for the one he loves, and George talks about his engagement with Shannon. To him, marriage means becoming his wife's ally for his entire life; the second he proposed to her, he was ready to have the entire world as his enemy. Watching on the mirror, Shannon is overjoyed to see this, and the other prisoners are impressed; Krauss especially laments his powerlessness at seeing his wife killed and being unable to prevent the same from happening to his daughter. Gaap changes her opinion of George, saying he thinks in the exact same way as Goldsmith and that he'll make an excellent demon in the future. George responds that he made his decision as the head of the Ushiromiya family, and thus he has inherited the headship. The demon asks if he's really prepared to kill everyone with his own hands, and George replies that he's more than prepared. Spurred on by his determination, Gaap declares that George has become the Demon King, and he asks if he can choose the order he kills people. Gaap confirms it, and George says that she will be the first. Gaap looks up in surprise to see George's stance change. He proclaims that the lives of the Ushiromiya family are now his assets, and reparations for the damages won't come cheap. He won't allow Gaap and her cohorts to take so many lives and get away with it. Back in Jessica's room, Ronove prepares to take her life, but Jessica says her answer to the test was as a girl; she has a different answer as the successor. Ronove asks what it is, and Jessica punches him in the face with her brass knuckles. The demon stares at her unflinchingly as blood trickles out of his nose. Jessica says that if Krauss lost his right to be the successor, then she's next in line to take his place. She declares herself the head of the Ushiromiya family, and Ronove calls it a splendid answer, changing her score to 80: 10 for the answer and 10 for the straight. Ronove states that he will test Jessica to see if she can get a perfect score, and Jessica accepts his challenge. Meanwhile, Gaap takes no heed to George's threat and opens a pitfall under him. He falls through and reappears from the ceiling of the arbor, and Gaap kicks him into the garden. George dodges her rapid roundhouse kicks as Gaap explains that three types of power are need to control the world: influence, wealth, and force, the third of which George is familiar with. She asks why George is able to do so much for furniture like Shannon, and George says he got strength out of his love for her. As Shannon watches them fight through the mirror, George says that she is not furniture and wants to be by her side for the rest of his life. The other prisoners comment on his youth, with Kyrie becoming a bit jealous. Gaap sees the value in Shannon, but then asks what his easily-killed parents could've given him. George responds that Hideyoshi gave him fortitude, swinging his leg and stopping a hairs' breadth from her face. George adds that Eva taught him a lot, including self-defense and martial arts. He starts shadowboxing and explains that fortitude is about staying cool and calmly analyzing opponents. He does it so he can counter his opponent's moves and return everything they give, making them submit and apologize over and over. He kicks Gaap again, stopping a hair's breadth like the last time. She asks why George's isn't hitting her, and he states that a monarch's force must only be shown; the enemy needs to know that they won't escape unharmed if they oppose him. He could also beat Gaap into submission, but then she won't tell him where the prisoners are. Seeing that she's no match by herself, Gaap decides to borrow Virgilia's troops; the goat guards soon disappear, which does not go unnoticed by the prisoners. George declares that Gaap will now receive real harm proportionate to her attacks, and a magic barrier appears around him, much to her surprise. She realizes that George's certain determination is turning into magic power. Meanwhile, Jessica is still fighting Ronove, who's defending from her attacks with a shield. He says it's useless to resist because nothing can break his shield, but Jessica says that anything can crack, even a person's heart if she keeps up at it. She believes there is no such thing as useless effort, and Ronove sees that her fists are starting to glow red; she's gained a piercing upgrade. Jessica declares her determination to save Kanon and everyone, and Ronove adds more power to his shield. They clash as the clock strikes 23:30. Teaser The Chiesters narrate the preview. 45 hears that an old comrade is returning, with 410 and 00 thinking that the one who died in battle against the evil witch has been resurrected. They try to remember her name, and 45 thinks she was Chiester M78. 410 thinks her name was Chiester F91, and 00 thinks she was Chiester 999. 45 realizes that her name started with a 5: Chiester 501, which prompts 00 to say her name is Jean. 410 says the next episode title, and 45 remembers that her name was 10W-30. 410 thinks it's a slippery sounding name, perfect for someone in a cat fight. 45 denounces her for her dirty thoughts, and 410 realizes that "rabbit fight" is more accurate than "cat fight." 00 calls the entire thing stupid. Soundtrack Trivia *In chess, a breakthrough is where you pierce through the opponent's defenses. Category:Anime Category:Anime Episode